UC Davis and the city of Davis are hosting the Davis Day of Reflection next week to remember community members we have lost over the past year, encourage reconnection and promote healing resources.

The Day of Reflection, Thursday, June 1, invites community members to visit any or all stops on a route through campus and downtown Davis, at any time during the day.

Along the route, participants will be invited to pause and reflect by writing messages to be displayed publicly or submitted privately, or by tying ribbons in a designated space in the Arboretum’s Redwood Grove and in Sycamore Park.

Aggie Mental Health Ambassadors will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for discussions and activities, as will representatives of Health 34, the UC Davis Fire Department's team of health care educators and providers who can connect participants with wellness resources, counseling and more. Mental health professionals from Yolo County are also due to participate.

Participants can share messages on works of public art, responding to prompts about grief, loss, compassion, hope and more. People who wish to reflect privately can either submit messages in a confidential drop box or just take a moment to pause in chairs from Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship’s Chair Share Program. Reflections can also be submitted digitally by scanning QR codes along the route.

The route will be fully accessible to all levels of mobility, and will include stops on campus along the promenade south of Walker Hall, between Shields Library and the Student Community Center; in the Redwood Grove near Wyatt Deck; and in the Arboretum GATEway Garden. In the city of Davis, Compassion Bench (Third and C streets) and Sycamore Park (1313 Sycamore Lane) will serve as stops along the route. A map of the route and planned stops will be posted on the event website prior to the event.

Talks are underway to make the Day of Reflection an annual event, and the campus stops will be permanently marked and listed online.

The Davis community has faced multiple tragedies in recent times, and each person heals at their own pace. But if there’s one thing the Davis community has learned from the pandemic, it’s that coming together and supporting one another can help ease burdens. The Davis Day of Reflection invites the community to mourn its losses together, to share the many ways everyone cares about and uplifts each other and to envision ways the community can move forward.